Door closer



April 19, 1938. v G. I CERAMI 214464 l DOOR CLOS ER Filed Jan. 16,` 1936 2 sheets-sheet 1 f F 7? 5 2f /a z5 G. L. CERAMI DOOR CLOSER April 19, 1938.

Filed Jan. 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 19, 193:8

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOOR CLOSER Giuseppe L. CeramLBrooklyn, N. Y., assigner to` Cerami Self-Closing Device Corporation, New

York, N. Y.

Application January 16, 1936, Serial No. 59,465

19 Claims.

plication for patent for spring hinge, filed July 5,

1935 and bearing the Serial No. 29,985.

One important object of this invention is to simplify the construction of my aforesaid prior application so as tov effectively accomplish the desired result with a considerably less number of parts. y y

A second important object of the v'invention 1s to so arrange the parts that they may be assembled and disassembled with great ease in making repairs and lubrication of the device.

A third important object of the invention is-toV simplify the different parts of the invention so that they may be readily machined as by automatic or semi-automatic machine tools thusproviding for low cost production. I

A fourth important object ofthe invention is to provide a novel device of this sort which may be applied to a hinge supported door whilenot in itself constituting a hinge. f Y

A fth important object of the invention is to provide novel means whereby the tension of the springs used in the device may be adjusted.

A sixth important' object of the invention is-to provide novel means, in connection with such a device, whereby the door may be latched in openposition againstaccidental closing.A l

With the above and other objects in view as will be hereinafter apparent, the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically claimed.

' In the accompanying drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through a portion of a door and its frame and showing one form of the device in position, the latterl beingv shown partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through such door and frame likewise sh'owing such device partly in section and partly in elevation.

50, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of this .form of the invention removed from the door and frame and having its casing also removed.

Fig. 4 is a detail section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. f 55 Fig. 5 is a small scale section through a. door and frame with the door partly open and the device installed.

Fig. 6 is a plan .View -of a second form of the invention with those parts of a door and frame to which it is attached indicated in dotted lines. 5

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a pair of hinge leaves` adapted to constitute parts of this second form.

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6, certain parts being left in elevation. 10

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a rear elevation of this form of the invention.

Fig. 1l is avsection on the line II-II of Fig. 8.

Fig. 12 is a perspective View showing a means 15 for attaching the device to the edge of a door between the'door hinges.

Fig. 13 is a section similar to. Fig. 9 but showing the attaching means of Fig. 12.v

In the forms of the invention here shown the 20 door is indicated at D and the part of the frame carrying the door hinges at F,l the latter being provided with a pocket P wherein the main part or body ofthe invention is seated.

In the' forms of the invention shown in Figs. l 25 to 5 the body of the devicev comprises a front plate I0 from the rear face of which extends side walls I I and `top and bottomwalls I2, lthese walls forming a rectangular casing open at its rear end and opening at its front end through the plate ID. 30

Slidable in this casing is a plunger I3 vertically reduced atits forward end to form a hinge eye I3. Extending from the rear end of this plunger isa pair of vertically spaced parallel bores i4 and slots I5. ASaid slots extend from the rear 35 ends of these bores I4 through the top and bottom faces of said plunger I3. Seated in the bores I4 is a pair of strong coiled compression springs I 6 which have their rear ends connected by a seat plate I1. Across the slots I5 extend pivot pins I8 40 whereon are -pivoted levers I9 each having a short arm bearing against the rear face of the plate Il and a long arm bearing against the rear of a` roller 20 journalled in a slot 2| at the rear of a plate or wall I2. 45

In connection with this part of the device there is provided a door plate 23 having vertically spaced hinge eyes 24 between which fits the hinge eye I3', a pin 25 passing through the eyes and y thus pivotally connecting the door plate with the parts* supported by the door frame, that is, the body of the device.

The plunger is provided `opposite one of the hinge eyes with a slot 26 registering with a slot 21 in one side of the casing. A bell crank lever 55 28 is pivoted in the slot 26 and has an arm extending in the slot 2'! but normally held out of contact with the adjacent eye 24 by a light spring 29. This lever is provided with a lug 30 which may be moved by a user to engage in a notch 3l when the door is fully open. Obviously there may be several of such notches tohold the door in any desired open position.

In operation as the door is opened as shown in Fig. 5, the plunger will be pulled out. This moves the pivots I8 forwardly and causes the levers I9, by engagement with the iixedly positioned rollers, to tilt so that their short ends move for'- wardly relative to the plunger and thuscompress the springs I6. Obviously, when the door is released these springs will act to restore the levers to normal position and draw the plunger rearwardly thus closing the door.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 6 to 13 there are also a body portion and a door portion. This body portion includes a facel plate 32 projecting rearwardly from which is a casing having a central rectangular portion 33 open at its rear end and open at its front end'through the face plate 32. casing above and below the central portion 33. Bores 35 extend vertically through the bores 34 and open into the central part 33 in alignment with each other. Slidable in Vthe bores 35 are pistons 36 bifurcated at their inner ends and` these pistons are provided on their rear faces with bevelled cam notches 31. In the notches 3l engage forwardly extending lips 38 formed on forward spring seats 39. Bolts 40 extend rotatably through the face plate 32 centrally of the longitudinal bores 34 and pass through thebifurcations of the pistons and slidably through the spring seats. On ther rear ends of' these bolts are nuts 4| and between the front and rear spring seats are coiled compression springs 42 the tension and compression of which may be adjusted by rotation of the bolts 40. These springs act to force the pistons 3B inwardly by engagement with the bevels of the notches 31..

slidable in the casing 33 is a plunger 43 having inclined channels 44 in its upper and lower edges, these channels increasing in depth from rear to front so that a wedge like portion is left between said channels. Rollers 45 are journalled in the bifurcated ends of the pistons and engage the bottoms of these channels so that, as the pistons are forced towards each other the plunger will be forced rearwardly. Obviously, the inclination of the bevelled faces of the pistons and the inclination of the channels will be such as to accomplish this result. Also, whatever -inclination is used the forward movement `of the plunger 43 will be spring resisted.`

In the forward end of theplunger 43 is a transverse slot 46 at the rear end of which is pivoted a link 4l which projects forwardly of the plunger 43 and is provided at its forward end with a hinge eye 48.

The door supported part of this device may constitute one leaf 49 ofA a hinge having a leaf 5B for attachment to the face plate32 and provided with an opening El through which the plunger 43 may pass. In this form the leaf 49 has a pair of hinge ears 5.2 between which the forward end of the link 41 is pivoted. Otherwise it may consist of a plain plate 53 having a pair of hinge ears 54 between which the forward end of the link 4l is pivoted.

In either case as the door is opened the plunger Bores 34 are formed in this apart thus forcing the forward spring seats rearwardly and compressing the springs.

'Ihere has thus been provided a simple and eflicient device of the kind described and for the purpose specified.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material and spirit thereof. It is not, therefore, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:

1. In a device for the purpose described, a face plate, a casing carried by the face plate and opening therethrough, a plunger slidable in said *casing to move in and out through said face plate, said casing and plunger constituting a pair of telescopic members, one of said members being provided with a pair of longitudinal bores, a horizontally disposed compression spring in each bore, each of said springs having one end s-upported in the bore Aagainst longitudinal movement and adapted for coactual cooperative movement, a doorplate movable toward and from the face plate, an operative connection connecting the plunger and door plate, and means engaging the free ends of the springs actuated by forward movement of said plunger for synchronously compressing the springs in a single direction.

2. In a device for the purpose described, a face plate, a casing carried by the face plate and opening therethrough, a plunger slidable in said casing to move in and out through said casing, said plunger having a pair of longitudinal bores closed at their forward ends, coiled compression springs held in said bores and resting against the closed forward ends, and spring compressing means engaging the rear ends ofv said springs and operable to compress the springs upon forward movement of the plunger in the casing.

3. In a device for the purpose described, a face plate, a casing carried by the face plate and opening therethrough, a plunger slidable in said casing to move in and out through said casing, said plunger having a pair of longitudinal bores closed at their forward ends, coiled compression springs'held in said bores and resting against the closed forward ends, a seat plate at the rear ends of said springs, levers pivoted intermediate their ends to the plunger at the rear thereof and each havingone arm pressing against the rear face of the seat plate, and rollers journalled in fixed positions on the rear part of the casing and engagingthe forward faces of the remaining arms of said levers.

4. In a device for the purpose described, a face plate, a casing carried by the faceplate and opening therethrough, a lplunger slidable in said casing to move in and out through said casing, said plunger having a pair of longitudinal bores closed at their forward ends, coiled compression springs held in said bores and resting against the closed forward ends, spring compressing means engaging the rear ends of said springs and operable to compress the springs upon forward movement of the plunger in the casing, and a door plate normally resting against the forward face of the face plate and hingedly connected to the forward end of said plunger.

5. In a device for the purpose described, a face plate, a casing carried by the face plate and opening therethrough, a plunger slidable in said cas'- 43 is pulled forward and the pistons are wedged ing to move in and out through said casing, said plunger having a pair of longitudinal bores closed at their forward ends, coiled compression springs held in said bores and resting against the closed forward ends, a seat plate at the rear ends of said springs, levers pivoted intermediate their ends to the plunger at the rear thereof and each having one arm pressing against the rear face of the seat plate, rollers journalled in fixed positions on the rear part of the casing and engaging the forward faces of the remaining arms of said levers, and a door plate normally resting against the forward face of the face plate and hingedly connected to the forward end of said plunger.

6. In a device for the purpose described, a face plate, a casing carried by the face plate and opening therethrough, a plunger slidable in said casing to move in and out through said casing, said plunger having a pair of longitudinal bores closed at their forward ends, coiled compression springs held in said bores and resting against the closed forward ends, spring compressing means engaging the rear ends of said springs and operable to compress the springs upon forward movement of the plunger in the casing, a door plate normally resting against the forward face of the face plate and hingedly connected to the forward end of said plunger, and cooperating latch means on said plunger and door plate to hold the door plate in desired angular relation.

'7. In a device for the purpose described, a face plate, a casing carried by the face plate and opening therethrough, a plunger slidable in said casing to move in and out through said casing, said plunger having a pair of longitudinal bores closed at their forward ends, coiled compression springs held in said bores and resting against the closed forward ends, a seat plate at the rear ends of said springs, levers pivoted intermediate their ends to the plunger at the rear thereof and each having one arm pressing against the rear face of the seat plate, rollers journalled in fixed positions on the rear part of the casing and engaging the forward faces of the remaining arms of said levers., a door plate normally resting against the forward face of the face plate and hingedly connected to the forward end of said plunger, and cooperating latch means on said plunger and door plate to hold the door plate in desired angular relation.

8. In a device of the kind described, a face plate, a casing carried by and opening through said face plate, said casing having longitudinal bores respectively at the top and bottom edges thereof, said casing further having aligned vertical bores leading out through said upper and lower parts and intersecting said first bores, a plunger movable in the casing between the bores and having its upper and lower sides inclined to form a central wedge portion arranged with its larger end at the rear, pistons movable through the vertical bores and supported on the inclined sides of the wedge portion, said pistons being provided with cam faces, spring seats in said longitudinal bores engaging said cam faces, springs extending in the longitudinal bores and each having an end engaging a spring seat, and spring seats supporting the remaining ends of the springs against movement.

9. In a device of the kind described, a face plate, an open casing carried by and opening through said face plate, said casing having longitudinal bores respectively at the top and bottom edges thereof, said casing further having aligned vertical bores leading out through said upper and lower parts and intersecting said rst bores,

a plunger `movable inthe casing between the bores and having its upper and lower sides inclined to form a central wedge portion arranged with its larger end at the rear, pistons movable through the vertical bores and supported on the inclined sides of the wedge portion, said pistons being provided with cam faces, spring seats in said longitudinal bores engaging said cam faces, springs extending in the longitudinal bores and each having an end engaging a spring seat, spring seats supporting the remaining ends of the springs against movement, and means to adjust the positions of the last mentioned spring seats.

10. In a device of the kind described, a face plate, a casing carried by and opening through said face plate, said casing having longitudinal bores respectively at the top and bottom edges thereof, said casing further having aligned vertical bores leading'out through said upper and lower parts and intersecting said first bores, a plunger movable in the casing between the bores and having its upper and lower sides inclined to form a central wedge portion arranged with its larger end at the rear, pistons movable through the vertical bores and supported on the inclined sides of the wedge portion, said longitudinal bores guiding said cam faces, springs extending in the longitudinal bores and each having an end engaging a spring seat, spring seats supporting the remaining ends of the springs against movement, means to adjust the positions of the last mentioned spring seats, a door plate normally resting against said face plate, and a link pivotally connected to said door plate and plunger.

l1. A device for automatically closing doors, comprising a face plate, a casing carried by the face platey and movable therewith, reciprocable means in the casing adapted to extend thru the face plate and being telescopic therewith, a plurality of spaced, parallel compression members movable in said reciprocable means, each of the members having one end supported in the casing, a door plate connecting the face plate and relatively movable therewith, operable means interconnecting the door plate and the reciprocable means, and actuable means for engaging the free ends of the compression members upon movement of the reciprocable means whereby the members are simultaneously compressed to return the reciprocable member to normal position.

12. 'Ihe combination with a door plate, of a face plate having a casing, opening therewith, reciprocable means connecting the door plate and movable in and out of the casing, a plurality of spaced compression members in the reciprocable means, supporting means abutting one end of the compression members, a pair of opposed levers pivoted intermediate their ends to the plunger for pressing against the supporting means on movement of the plunger, and opposed rollers journalled to the casing for slidably contacting the levers.

13. The .combination according to claim 12, in which cooperative latching means are mounted on the plunger to engage the door plate to hold the same in desired stationary position.

14. A closing device for doors and the like, comprising a door plate, a casing having a face plate normally abutting the door plate, a plunger reciprocable in the casing and connected with the door plate, a plurality of spaced parallel compression members mounted in the casing and actuable by said plunger, upon movement of the door plate, and pivoted contacting means in the casing abuttingone end of the compression members for normally returning the plunger to its position in the casing.

15. A device according to claim 14, in which the plunger is provided with tensioned latching means for engaging the door plate and retaining the same in desired angular relation.

16. A device for automatically closing doors, comprising a face plate, a casing connected with the face plate and opening therethru, plunging reciprocable means in said casing and forming a telescopic member therewith, one of said members being provided with a pair of longitudinal bores, coacting, cooperative horizontal compression members for the bores, being supported at one end thereof against longitudinal movement, a door plate pivotally connected With the plunging means, and means in connection with the fee ends of the spring actuable by the forward movement of the plunger for horizontally compressing the springs in a single direction counter to the action of a door when being swung open.

17. A door closing device, comprising a casing, a reciprocable plunger in the casing, a plate member hingedly connected with the plunger, and spaced horizontal spring members in the casing in cooperative connection with the plunger adapted upon compression of the springs to retract the plunger into the casing.

18. A closing device for doors and the like, comprising a casing, a plunger reciprocable in and out of the casing, a door plate in hinged connection with the plunger, a plurality of spaced, parallel compression members adapted to coact on reciprocation of the plunger, disposed on either side of the plunger in the casing, and a plurality of coacting means interconnecting the members and the plunger for normally drawing the same into rest position.

19. A closing device according to claim 18 in which the plunger is provided with means for engaging the door plate and retain the same in xed position against the action of the compression members.

GIUSEPPE L. CERAMI. 

